


on guard

by a_novel_idea



Series: shelter me [2]
Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Dogs, F/M, Pre-Relationship, kastle - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-02
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-30 20:29:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6439294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_novel_idea/pseuds/a_novel_idea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank asks Karen to watch his dog.</p>
            </blockquote>





	on guard

**Author's Note:**

> IDK what's up with the spacing. I can't get it to stop.

Karen never gets around to fixing the bullet holes in her apartment .

They're dark marks against the neutral color of her bedroom walls, sharp little pin points that she can barely make out from the safety of her mattress. She's thought about hanging something over them, maybe a print or a photo, but sometimes, in the middle of the night when she can't sleep, she likes the reminder that it's one more thing she's survived.Tonight is not one of those nights. Tonight, for reasons unfathomable to Karen's conscience, she feels vulnerable, paper thin and washed out. She chalks it up to the three death threats she received earlier this week; working for the Bulletin hasn't made her many friends in these last eight months. But damn if she isn't good at it.This is what she's thinking of at two a.m. on a Sunday morning when a knock echoes through the apartment. She isn't expecting anyone that wouldn't have called first; she checks her phone to make sure she doesn't have any missed messages, and when that fails, she retrieves the .380 from under the other pillow on her bed.She creeps down the hall on her toes, the safety already switched off, to the front door. Several months ago, after the Punisher debacle and the first few death threats at the Bulletin, Karen had spent a good chunk of her first paycheck having the security in her apartment beefed up. This has so far included a solid wood security door, brand new locks, bullet-proof window replacements, and additional lessons at a range in New Jersey.The knocking starts again as Karen reaches the door. She slots her eye over the peephole, and leans back on her heels. She checks again, and sure enough, the image hasn't changed. She'd recognize that beat up and bruised face anywhere, but she's having a hard time believing he's standing at her door."Page," he says, muffled through the wood. "Open the door."Karen hesitates. _If he were here to hurt you_ , her mind supplies, _he wouldn't have knocked. And it's not like the door could have kept him out anyway._ She starts to undo the deadbolts and chain locks slowly, as if her mind isn't made up. Frank Castle waits patiently. He's as imposing as she remembers, just as dark and bruised. He's wearing his usual heavy coat, despite the incoming summer heat, and he has a hat pulled low over his face; Karen doesn't spot his body armor, but that doesn't mean he's not wearing it."Ma'am," he says once the door is open."Frank, what are you doing here?""I, uh," he shifts from one foot to the other. "Can I come in?"She nods slowly, backing out of the doorway and standing to the side. It's the nails clicking on her hardwood floors that makes Karen look down at the dog she hasn't noticed until then. It's a pit bull, which Karen thinks is fitting of Frank. She's white with brown spots around her pink nose, and she looks like the most unfriendly dog Karen has ever seen, which she also thinks is fitting of the man."Champion," Frank says as Karen closes the door and redoes the locks. "Friend."The dog's entire demeanor changes, going from ridged and on guard to open and friendly, tongue rolling our of her mouth as she prances forward to inspect Karen."Champion?" Karen questions, kneeling to run her hands over the pit."I didn't name her," Frank says in explanation.Karen nods. "What are you doing here, Frank?""I need a favor," he says, though Karen can tell he doesn't like asking for it."A favor," she says, standing and crossing her arms."I gotta leave town for a few weeks," he says to her shoes. "I can't take Champion with me.""You want me to watch your dog," Karen says."Yes, ma'am."Karen sighs, and moves into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee; she knows she won't be sleeping tonight. Champion follows her, pressing her cold nose to the back of Karen's knees. Franks shuffles after the dog, more wary of Karen that the animal he brought with him. As almost a second thought, Karen thumbs the safety back on, and sets the gun on the counter. They let the pot percolate in silence, and when it's finished, Karen pulls down two mugs. She hands one of them to Frank and stirs in a few spoonfuls of sugar into her own."How long is a few weeks?" Karen finally asks.Frank shrugs."Does this trace back to Hell's Kitchen?""Yes.""I want the story when you get back," Karen says."What does it matter if they're dead?""It matters _why_ they're dead," she says firmly. "Public support is a big reason why people who recognize you on the street don't tip off the cops. You want to keep that, you have to let them know you're still tracking the bad guys.""You seem to be good at the support thing all on your own," he comments.Karen pauses, mug halfway to her mouth."You read my stuff?" she asks.He shrugs again.She rolls her eyes."Does Champion require special care?" Karen asks."She'll throw peanut butter back up.""Good to know," she says, rubbing at one of the dog's ears. "When are you dropping her off?""Few days.""Maybe you could try for a more decent hour next time," she says.He grunts."Goodnight, Frank."He nods, rinses out his mug in the sink, and whistles at Champion. The pit bull gives Karen one last lick up her leg and trots after her master.***"In a few days", Karen learns, is the next day, at eleven in the morning, while she's at work.It's Ellison that opens her door without knocking, so she's only slightly annoyed."Yes?" She asks.He stands in her threshold, looking weary around the eyes, and heaves a sigh."There is a very unfriendly dog in the lobby with your name pinned to her collar."Karen drops her pen. "Shit."She stands and pushes her way past Ellison without bothering to lock down her computer or grab her purse. Ellison catches her as she waits for the elevator to arrive, and steps in with her."Who's dog is it?""I'm watching her for a friend," Karen says. "He wasn't supposed to drop her off here."Champion is seated next to the security desk, though the officers are avoiding her. She's tense again, wound tight like she's ready to take out anyone that comes too close; her leash hangs limply from her collar."Champion," Karen says, and the dog perks up, trotting over to Karen."Aren't you a pretty dog," Ellison says, reaching his hand out."No!" Karen says, moving the editor's hand out of the way just before Champion can clamp down on it. "She's a guard dog. Champion," the dog perks up. "Friend."The dog relaxes, pushing forward to sniff all over Ellison and nose at his hand; Karen snags the note off of her collar. _Page_ , it reads, _I dropped off everything you'll need at your apartment. Sorry for the short notice._ Instead of his name, he'd drawn a little cartoon skull on the corner of the page. _P.S._ , the bottom reads, _'Guard' is the magic word._ Karen doesn't even want to think about what that means."What are you going to do with her?" Ellison asks."She'll sit with me in my office," Karen says absently, folding the note and slipping it into her pocket."So long as she doesn't pee on anything," he says.Karen raises her eyebrows."Not even on Kunackie's couch," he says sternly. "I don't care how much you don't like him.""If you say so."***Karen and Champion fall into a schedule: Karen starts the day with a cup of coffee, feeds Champion, then they go on a walk around the block; after that, they come back to the apartment so Karen can get ready for work, and they walk the three blocks to the Bulletin. In the afternoons, Champion accompanies Karen as she hunts down information throughout Hell's Kitchen. When they're finally done with the day, they head back to Karen's apartment, usually to takeout, kibble, and cuddles.After two weeks of radio silence from Frank, things change. Karen and Champion are on their way home, later than usual, but by no means the latest they've ever been out. Karen is distracted by the emails on her phone, so she doesn't see him until she's been body checked into an alley wall. She stumbles over Champion's back, and the dog rolls a few times until she's back on her feet. Champion is immediately on the defensive, lips pulled back in a snarl, but she doesn't make to attack. The man is a little wary of the dog, but when she doesn't attack on sight, he seems to have no problem showing Karen the knife he has for her.  


"Hey, pretty lady," he grins. "What you doing out so late?"

Karen keeps silent, wishing she could go for the .380 in her purse, but the man's too close to chance it. He's older than her, maybe early fifties, with neatly trimmed hair and clothes freshly pressed. He's nothing at all like anyone would imagine a mugger to look like. He also, Karen notes, isn't carrying anything more than a knife; if he had a gun, he would have pulled that first. 

"I asked you a question, gorgeous," he snarls.

"Champion," Karen says, thinking fast;the dog tenses. " _Guard_."

Karen thinks she's probably not supposed to enjoy the way the man screams.

***

Two weeks turn into two months, and on the night Franks shows back up in her apartment, Karen is almost disappointed. Champion greets her master with an enthusiasm that Karen finds adorable; she also never thought she's see Frank Castle sitting in her living room floor cuddling a dog and letting it kiss him with no complaints. Karen slips into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. She won't say that Frank looks like he needs it, but he isn't any less ragged around the edges than when he left.

"Did you have any trouble?" he asks when she hands him a mug.

"Nope."

"None, huh?"

"No," Karen says. "Why?"

"Just some rumors I heard," Frank shrugs. "Guy in the ER, attacked by a pretty blonde and her beast of a dog."

"Like I said," she smiles. "No trouble at all."


End file.
